


Divine Meddling For Fun and Profit

by misura



Category: Elenium/Tamuli Series - David & Leigh Eddings
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-21
Updated: 2016-11-21
Packaged: 2018-09-07 22:34:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8818783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura
Summary: Sparhawk and Ehlana travel to Chyrellos to discuss the matter of Sparhawk's successor as head of the Pandion order.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [silo18](https://archiveofourown.org/users/silo18/gifts).



Dolmant never should have agreed to 'discuss' the matter of Sparhawk's successor as the preceptor of the Pandion order with Ehlana in person.

That mistake, Sparhawk reflected, would likely cost him the argument.

Of course, it wasn't as if Dolmant had had much of a choice. Once Ehlana decided to get involved in something, nothing short of divine intervention would serve to get her un-involved.

Given that their company had run into two old friends practically the moment they had ridden into Chyrellos, Sparhawk was fairly sure that while divine meddling might well have taken place, it had not been to Dolmant's benefit.

 

"Naturally," Dolmant said, "I would not dream of doubting the young man's ability. I am quite convinced your Majesty is a quite able judge of such manners. However, there are other things that need to be considered also."

"Oh, really, Dolmant." Ehlana scowled. "Don't tell me _you_ , of all people, believe that just because someone's of noble blood, that somehow makes them superior to everyone else."

"No offense, but is that really an argument your Majesty should be making?" Tynian interrupted.

Dolmant looked a little surprised as well as relieved.

Sparhawk almost pitied the man. He liked Dolmant, and to some degree, he could even sympathize with Dolmant's concerns. Still, sometimes changes were necessary.

"Have you _met_ my father?" Ehlana asked snidely. "He was - well, let us not speak ill of the dead. Suffice to say that he will serve to nicely prove my point."

Sparhawk wondered if he was alone in remembering Ehlana speaking of Aldreas in flattering, even glowing terms, a number of years ago, when she had visited Chyrellos as Queen for the first time.

Then, she had brought about the election of a new archprelate - the same man whom she was arguing with now.

"An occasional bad apple," Ulath offered.

Dolmant seemed dangerously close to relaxing, lulled into a false sense of security by this show of support from unexpected quarters. Sparhawk considered putting in his own two cents as well, but regretfully decided that that might be going too far.

Dolmant was not an idiot, after all, and it would not do any of them any good if he caught on to the game.

"Surely, my daughter, there are others you might look to for this position," Dolmant said, before he realized his mistake and added, "By which I don't mean to imply that you would have any influence over such an appointment, naturally."

"Naturally," Ehlana agreed. "Your Holiness knows quite well I would not dream of doing any such thing, being only a poor, ignorant young woman."

Dolmant smiled a little. "I suppose any son of Kurik's would be a very practical and capable sort of man."

"He certainly is that, your Holiness. Clever, brave and quite good with a sword or lance, too." Tynian sighed. "Still, not a drop of noble blood in him. Many people are prejudiced about that sort of thing."

"More of a punishment than an honor, really," Ulath said. "Appointing someone like that."

There was a hint of suspicion in Dolmant's expression as he nodded slowly. "Sparhawk? You've been remarkably silent so far, given that we're discussing your successor. Any opinion you might care to share?"

Sparhawk cleared his throat. "Only that I've recently received a letter from Vanion, your Holiness."

Dolmant grimaced. Regardless of his personal feelings, Vanion's relationship with Sephrenia was not one Dolmant would ever be able to condone - at least officially. "He's well, I hope."

"Bored, I think," Sparhawk said bluntly. "He expressed great delight in having nothing to do with his time whatsoever, other than attempting to convince the youngsters of Sarsos that a bit of exercise might be good for them."

Ehlana frowned a little. She'd read the same letter Sparhawk had, but being far less familiar with Vanion's personality, she'd required a certain amount of ... convincing to agree to this particular part of the plan.

Dolmant chuckled. "That does sound like Vanion. So you're suggesting that he might jump at the chance to get back his old job?"

"Only temporarily, of course, your Holiness. He's retired, after all."

"And deservedly so." Dolmant considered. "You're sure that he'd be up to it? He's not a young man anymore - there's a reason he stepped back."

"The quiet life in Sarsos has rejuvenated him, your Holiness." Not quite true, but Sparhawk decided that the truth would only make Dolmant uncomfortable.

"Should Lord Vanion decide that my candidate is unsuitable, I will, of course, have no choice but to accept his expert judgment," Ehlana said.

Dolmant sighed. "This was your plan all along, wasn't it?"

"I'm sure that I have no idea to what your Holiness is referring."

"Look, I'm all for making it clear to the nobility that they don't have a monopoly on fine qualities, but you have to be realistic. Plenty of people already consider it an outrage that Khalad and his brothers have been trained as Pandion. You can't change the world simply because you want to, Ehlana. These things take time."

"Bait and switch," Ulath said.

Dolmant looked a little confused. Sparhawk wondered if Ulath was improvising, or if this was simply a part of the plan Ehlana had not seen fit to share with him.

"Suggest you're considering something even more outrageous," Tynian explained. "Then allow people to talk you out of it. Usually works brilliantly, provided you don't do it too often. Let's see - how long ago did you fiddle around with the taxes?"

"And what sort of something did you have in mind, Sir Tynian?"

"Oh," Tynian said casually, "I don't know. Legalizing marriage between two people of the same gender? I'd say: two people of different faiths, but that might be a bit too much on the nose."

Dolmant smiled faintly. "It may surprise you to learn, Sir Tynian, that the Church is far less concerned with people's genders than it is with people's souls. To the Church, at least, there is no reason whatsoever why you and Sir Ulath could not be united in wedlock. Sadly, the same cannot be said of secular law. Something to do with inheritance and taxes and such, I believe."

"Really?" Even Ehlana looked surprised.

"I had Ortzel look into it." Dolmant's expression was complacent, even a little smug. "You see, Ehlana, you're not the only one who likes to meddle. About three weeks ago, I received a very polite letter, suggesting I have a look. Imagine our surprise at what we discovered."

 

The moment they returned to their lodgings, Sparhawk sought out his daughter, who had elected to stay behind. At the time, Sparhawk had assumed that her decision had been motivated by divine etiquette, the Elene god being none too keen on having other deities enter his Basilica.

Now, he wondered if perhaps her motives might have been less pure.

"You've been meddling again, haven't you?"

"Hello, Father." Danae smiled at him calmly. She had passed the age of being able to hug and kiss people indiscriminately some years ago. "And I'm sure that I have no idea what you're talking about. Have you seen Talen, by any chance?"

Sparhawk considered standing his ground. "I think he went out for a walk." He told himself it was a vague enough deflection not to get Talen in any actual trouble.

Danae pursed her lips. "Mother has her heart set on a big wedding, but I just don't think Talen's quite ready yet. Besides, _someone_ 's being a bore about bending the rules."

"I don't want to know, do I?"

"Probably not," Danae agreed. "Anyway, all I did was ask Berit to write a letter to Dolmant. It really _is_ time to make a few changes, you know, and I don't want to wait until I'm actually Queen. I don't mind the wait myself, but this stupid thing was upsetting Berit, and I want him and Khalad to be happy. They deserve it, don't you think?"

" _Berit_? And _Khalad_?"

"You didn't know? You must be getting old, Father. Mother figured it out years ago. She's convinced that you don't want to talk to her about it because you're a bit of a prude - I'd have thought that she'd know better by now, but I guess you made quite an impression when she was a girl." Danae rolled her eyes. "All that going on about not giving people the wrong idea."

"What about Ulath and Tynian?"

Danae shrugged. "They don't really care what other people think."

"Any other things I should know about?"

Danae looked pensive. "No, I think that was everyone. Bevier really _is_ married to that axe of his, I guess. Oh, and you'll need to tell Sephrenia that you're giving Vanion back his old job for a while."

"Can't you do it? It was your idea, after all."

"Don't be silly, Sparhawk. She's going to want to yell at someone, and she can't very well do that if _I'm_ the one to tell her, can she? Don't worry, she probably won't do anything too bad to you."

 

Ehlana threw herself into organizing a wedding the likes of which prompted Sparhawk to feel a great deal of sympathy for Talen, who seemed to be spending a lot of his time out of the palace. Platime was getting old and has dropped a few pointed hints about the qualities he might be looking for in an heir.

Sparhawk wasn't quite sure if he really wanted his daughter to marry a prince of thieves. Then again, the one time he'd broached the subject, it had been made very clear that he would have no say in the matter whatsoever. As such, he tried to tell himself it wasn't his problem.

"I guess it can't be much worse than charging into battle," Khalad said.

Tynian smirked. "Actually - "

"I still can't believe that all this time, it was this easy." Berit looked slightly dazed.

Sparhawk made a mental note to seek out Kalten later. If anyone would know where to find a fortifying drink in a hurry, it would be Kalten.

Khalad frowned. "I'm not sure if I'd call it 'easy', exactly. Although I suppose that I can see why anyone trying to catch your eye after someone who's in the habit of walking around naked might need to make a bit of an effort. Not that you weren't worth it, but I'd thought you'd catch on a bit sooner."

Berit flushed a little.

"Traditionally, I think _we're_ the ones supposed to bring up the embarrassing stories," Tynian said. "As your good friends and comrades in arms, you see."

"My apologies, Sir Tynian," Khalad said. "In the village where I grew up, people were a lot more sensible when it came to weddings."

"Me and Ulath just did it the Troll way," Tynian said. "That's pretty simple, too."

"Not very romantic, though."

Tynian shrugged. "Romance is what comes before and, if you're lucky, _after_. The wedding's usually just for your friends and your family to wish you well and stuff themselves at your expense."

"That's a very cynical point of view," Sparhawk said, adding as he recalled his own wedding, "Not inaccurate, perhaps, but even so."

"Still, it's a funny thing," Tynian said. "If you'd asked me, at the beginning of this - the very beginning, I mean, how it would all turn out in the end, I wouldn't have guessed the answer to be 'weddings all around'. Except for Bevier, of course, but then, he and that axe of his are pretty much inseparable."

"There's worse endings," Ulath said.

"True. Still, it's all so very _neat_ , don't you think? If this had been a story, at least one of us would have died of a broken heart or something. And there probably would have been a love triangle."

"You and Bhlokw seemed very close."

"I - Ulath!"

Sparhawk decided to step in. "Gentlemen. Let's see these two fine young men get married, shall we?"


End file.
